The Department of Orthopaedics is excited to welcome Catherine K. Kuo, PhD, to the team. An expert in biomaterials, mechanobiology of tendon development, stem cell-based tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine, Kuo will collaborate with many of our orthopaedic basic science and clinical faculty. She is also an associate professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) at the A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park.
Kuo received her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering and a dual PhD in biomaterials and macromolecular science and engineering from the University of Michigan. She underwent postdoctoral training at the Cartilage Biology and Orthopaedics Branch of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Prior to joining BIOE, Kuo worked as an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Rochester. There, she also served on the Senior Executive Committee for the Center for Musculoskeletal Research.
Kuo’s research characterizes structure-property relationships of embryonic tendons during development to identify key regulators of tendon formation that may serve as therapeutic targets to enhance adult tendon regeneration. She also studies the mechanobiology of embryonic tendon development, with the goal of developing in utero interventions to prevent and treat congenital musculoskeletal birth deformities.
Kuo is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award, GoLife Innovation in Research Award, and Emerging Investigator Award by Stem Cell Research and Therapy. She was recognized by the National Academy of Engineering as an outstanding U.S. engineer younger than age 45 at the German-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in 2013.
She has received research funding from the NIH, Department of Defense (DOD), NSF, March of Dimes, and industry.
Kuo’s work has been published in high-impact and discipline-specific journals including PNAS, Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, Journal of Orthopaedic Research, and Journal of Biomechanics.
She can be reached at ckk@umd.edu.